Author of "Tasty: The Art and Science of What We Eat," on the science of taste, culinary history, and the future of food. My work has appeared in Smithsonian magazine, Wired, The Washington Post, Mother Jones, the Guardian and the Huffington Post. In a previous life I was a reporter for The Times-Picayune of New Orleans, where I contributed to several Pulitzer Prize-winning efforts. I am the co-author of "Path of Destruction: The Devastation of New Orleans and the Coming Age of Superstorms."

The Super Bowl Blackout: "An Abnormality In The System"

Let’s just say this: the power is not supposed to go out at the stadium during the Super Bowl. For 35 minutes. Our society is built on complex, interlocking systems. For huge pop culture moments broadcast worldwide, you want those systems to work flawlessly. Or at least, so any flaws are not visible to the masses watching. When the flaw bursts into view and becomes a pop culture moment all its own, you’ve got a problem.

Yes, it was kind of bizarre and funny. And it produced some damn funny tweets. But it also changed the momentum of the game. And when something like this happens, it also exposes larger flaws, in both those systems and the institutions that maintain them. And to have it happen in New Orleans, the nation’s poster child for, and victim of, neglected infrastructure, only compounds the embarrassment.

As of Monday morning, there’s still no clear explanation of what happened. Here is the joint statement issued Sunday night by Entergy, the power company, and SMG, which manages the Superdome:

Shortly after the beginning of the second half of the Super Bowl in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, a piece of equipment that is designed to monitor electrical load sensed an abnormality in the system. Once the issue was detected, the sensing equipment operated as designed and opened a breaker, causing power to be partially cut to the Superdome in order to isolate the issue.

OK, an “abnormality in the system.” That’s a start. Or it could turn out to be the next “mistakes were made.” Add to this the diffidence of CBS during the blackout, whose enormous team of sports journalists neglected to do much reporting on the story unfolding right under their noses.

A quick recap of the backstory here: In 2005, the hurricane levee system protecting the New Orleans area failed due to engineering design and construction errors made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and much of the city flooded. Thousands of people who had not evacuated ended up stranded in the flooded, powerless Superdome, overwhelming the modest emergency services that had been set up there. Then they waited around for days because nobody in the local, state, or federal governments could figure out how to rescue them (or thousands of others stranded nearby, mostly at the convention center).

The Superdome (which is an architectural and urban design monstrosity, like somebody dumped the Starship Enterprise on a vacant lot) has also been heavily subsidized by the taxpayers from the get-go, first when it was built and then during the post-Katrina phase. According to Bloomberg News, nearly half a billion dollars has been lavished on it. New Orleans got something in this bargain, certainly. The Saints stayed in town, and won the Super Bowl three years ago, a moment of sports and civic triumph. But if you want to buy and then keep your civic prestige, you should at least be able to keep the lights on.

Post Your Comment

Post Your Reply

Forbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out.